The key to mastering WORLD HISTORY is asking the right questions. As you learn about new topics, ask the BIG IDEA and SMALL IDEA questions. If you can answer these questions, then you have mastered that topic.

Big Idea Questions:

How does CONFLICT effect the world?

How effective are nations that work together?

Why do nations work together?

How does global interaction lead to innovation?

How does disease effect a society (think in terms of economic, political, and social)?

Small Idea Questions:

What issues cause CONFLICTS? (examples)

What CONFLICTS changed the world?

What ways do nations work together? (examples)

What global interactions led to what innovations? (examples)

How do nations interact? (examples)

What are diseases and how do they occur? (examples, terms)

7th Grade History Standards (North Carolina Social Studies)7.H.1.1

The student will know: 7.H.2.1 Analyze the effects of social, economic, military and political conflict among nations, regions, and groups (e.g. war, genocide, imperialism and colonization).

The student will understand:

Colonization, conquest, and imperialism may alter a people’s way of life in positive and negative ways.

Conflict may begin as ideological struggle and end in physical violence.

There are multiple perspectives to understand and analyze in order to determine the effects of any type of conflict.

The effects of conflict are multifaceted.

Economic conflict may alter the quality of life for citizens in various nations and regions.

Political conflict may lead to the formation of alliances.

Political and social conflict may require military intervention.

Scarcity of resources and political power struggles may result in global conflict.

For example:Students could dissect the concept of imperialism in India during the 1700s to determine both the positive and negative effects on Indian society. In terms of positive effects, the British set up a “modern” legal system, built a network of roads and telegraph lines, expanded irrigation systems and missionaries worked to improve health care and provide assistance to the poor. On the other hand, the British changed the traditional economy of India from a largely barter economy to one based on money in order to make the colony profitable for the British crown at the expense of Indian business and industry.

Additional examples would include: The Scramble for Africa, Exploration and Colonization of the Americas, Western Arrival to China and Japan (1854) and the corresponding effects of these conflicts on both societies.

The student will know: The issues surrounding various conflicts across the globe.

7.H.2.2 Evaluate the effectiveness of cooperative efforts and consensus building among nations, regions, and groups (e.g. Humanitarian efforts, United Nations, World Health Organization, Non Governmental Organizations, European Union and Organization of American States).

The student will understand:

Multiple organizations are often needed to address issues with global consequences.

Human and capital resources are needed to address issues with global consequences.

Motivations for participating in global consensus building efforts may impact how groups work together.

International cooperative efforts often have mixed results.

The student will know:

Motivations for the person/groups’ participation in the global problem-solving process.

Criteria used to evaluate the effectiveness of international cooperative efforts such as the ability to meet the objectives set forth by the group.

For example: Students can examine the creation of the League of Nations, evaluate its effectiveness during the post-World War I period and its evolution into the United Nations following World War II. The League of Nations was created to police the international community, but it did not have the ability to impose consequences for groups/nations/regions that violated international law. Additionally, the most powerful nations in the world, like the United States, did not buy into its mission and determinations. This led to an ineffective organization that fell apart when it was needed to help build a coalition to fight Hitler. Lessons learned from this organization were addressed when the United Nations was created during the period immediately following World War II.

7.H.2.3 Explain how increased global interaction accelerates the pace of innovation in modern societies (e.g. advancements in transportation, communication networks and business practices).

The student will understand:

Innovation in communication allows people and ideas to travel from place to place with greater ease.

Sharing of ideas and innovations allows for more feedback and analysis, leading to a more refined idea and more efficient innovation.

Global interaction may be caused by conflict.

Example: The industrialization of Japan during the post-World War II Era. The rebirth and development of this nation’s infrastructure, factory system and transportation system were made possible because of the interaction between the victorious United States and defeated Japan.

The student will now:

Types of interactions

o Military interaction

War

Tools (hardware or human resources)

o Economic interaction o Social interaction

Popular culture

Food

Clothing

Literature

o Scientific interaction

Key terms including but not limited to:

o Innovation o Industrialization

7.H.2.4 Analyze the economic, political, and social impacts of disease (e.g. smallpox, malaria, bubonic plague, AIDS and avian flu) in modern societies.

The student will understand:

Diseases impact modern societies differently.

Disease can cause the extinction of modern societies.

Cultural ideas will impact how disease is recognized, accepted and treated within modern societies.

Diseases can be man-made or found in nature.

A variety of people/groups work together to help fight disease across the globe.

For example: The arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors brought Small Pox to the indigenous people that they encountered in the Americas. Those indigenous groups did not have immunity to the disease and consequently lost thousands of people to it.

For example: AIDS is a global epidemic that has social, economic and political implications for nations. Educating the community to know about the disease and how to prevent it spread requires financial investment by impacted groups. Research and treatment requires money. Cultural norms contribute to the ease with which the community learns about and deals with the spread of AIDS. In Africa, education of women and men about prevention is the first line of defense. Secondly, society must deal with the results of large infection and death rates due to the disease such as labor shortage and large numbers of orphaned children. NGOs work from a variety of perspectives to address the economic, political and social impacts of AIDS with both industrial and industrializing societies.

*please excuse the above typos. This is the exact wording used in the standards released by North Carolina's Department of Education.